Making buckets and storm lanterns in 1/35th scale

Making Buckets and Storm Lanterns
From Plastic card and Aluminium foil

Another excellent how-to by Ian Sadler from IPMS(UK)

You will need the following tool for this - a Multi Turreted Leather Hole Punch/Pliers - see my photo below. These can be obtained from craft stores or leather outlets; you will have to search it out as it is not an every day item you see on sale. I can only give an idea of cost in the U.K. at being around £4-00 each.

Each tube will punch out discs or circles in plastic card up to 40 thousands of an inch and aluminium foil. It will also punch out discs in brass up to 20 thousand of an inch.

WARNING ON USE:

The way to use it is as always easy - but it has a down side if you do not heed my warning. When you buy it you're tempted to use it straight away, but before you do, firstly cut a piece of scrap cardboard from a kit packet thickness is ideal and place this on the brass bed plate, then place your plastic card or aluminium foil on top. Then and only then press down and you will obtain a clean cut. If you do not use the cardboard as a buffer you will end up scoring the brass bedplate and after a few discs are cut out you will have ruined it.
You need a piece of wire the correct diameter to pop into the top of the tube and hit it with a set of pliers or hammer to remove the cut disc from the tube.

To make a simple bucket you need a suitable strip of aluminium foil the correct height see my article on replacement track guards and punch out at the same time a disc of plastic card and two discs of aluminium foil.
Super glue one of the aluminium foil discs to each side of the plastic disc, this save on any painting, wrap the foil round a suitable mandrill , I use the shank of a twist drill, to form an open tube leave a piece extra at the back for supper gluing and to form a seam. Pop the tube over the disc combination and super glue it into place. Leave to dry, then near the top of the rim drill tiny holes opposite each other and insert a handle made from suitable wire. The examples in the scan scale out at 6 inches in diameter and a height of 8 inches.

To make the Storm lantern you need two discs of the same diameter plastic card and one smaller, glue these on top of each other and leave to dry. Then find a suitable piece of clear plastic sprue shape it in a lathe or mini drill with files. When satisfied cut it to length and glue on top of the base, add a tiny disc of plastic to the top to form the top case of the lantern and when dry drill two holes opposite each other at the top and mid way along the base, these must line up. Cut a suitable piece of wire and test fit into the holes. Cut into two equal lengths and holding the two together make your bends for the top and bottom at the same time, this way you have a matched pair.

Then when satisfied, super glue the wires into the holes and all you have to add to the base is the filling tube from a tiny piece of plastic rod. Lastly add a tiny eyelet to the top of the lantern, mine is a left over from a WW 2 Russian armoured car.

This Storm Lantern scales out at 8 inches base diameter and 12 inches in height.

It seems fiddly, but give it a try, you'll be convinced!

Ian Sadler